Tokyo, Hong Kong stocks pace gains in Asia

V.Phani Kumar

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Asian markets barreled higher Friday after a strong lead from Wall Street in the wake of upbeat U.S. economic data, with Tokyo and Hong Kong stocks leading the way.

Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average
NIK, +1.19%
rose 1.2% to return above the 9,000 level, buoyed by the yen’s weakness amid expectations the Bank of Japan may further expanded its asset-purchase program.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index
HSI, +1.97%
advanced 1.3% to top the 22,000-point level, a day after the Hong Kong Monetary Authority again intervened to curb the local currency’s strength against the U.S. dollar amid fund inflows following the Federal Reserve’s latest round of quantitative easing.

“The fact that the Bank of Japan forecasts inflation to stay below its 1% target in 2014 suggests more easing will follow. For the rest of Asia, this means another wave of liquidity washing up on its shores,” said Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian economic research at HSBC.

“Just like the flood of dollars, those extra yen being thrown around will also have a major effect on emerging Asia,” he said.

U.S. data are due to stay in the global spotlight with the nation’s October jobs report due out later in the day. The results will also likely have an outsized political impact ahead of next Tuesday’s presidential election. Read: U.S. jobless rate is presidential concern.

The day’s rally added to the weekly gains for most regional indexes, with the S&P/ASX 200 — which ended the week with a 0.3% loss — one exception. The Hang Seng Index rose 2.6% and the Shanghai Composite advanced 2.5% during the week, while the Kospi added 1.4% and the Nikkei rose 1.3%.

Shares of Sharp Corp.
6753, +1.63%SHCAF, +3.67%
however, sank 2.4% after swinging to a quarterly loss, increasing its full-year loss projection and warning about worries about its future as a going concern.

Panasonic Corp.
6752, +1.74%US:PC
slipped 0.7%, adding to its 19.5% tumble the previous day in reaction to a heavy quarterly loss.

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